Draymond Green, notorious for his heated exchanges with coaches and teammates, was not involved during the altercation between the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets players on Sunday night.
Green’s uncharacteristic behavior left the announcers wondering what had actually gone wrong.
Why Announcers Were Shocked by Draymond Green Avoiding the Warriors-Nuggets Scuffle
Green has made a name for himself as one of the greatest defensive players, earning nine All-Defensive Team selections and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. He is also well known for his vocal nature and heated exchanges, and it is rare for him not to rank among the league leaders in technical foul counts.
However, what happened in the recent Warriors-Nuggets game on Sunday shocked the NBA community. With just 9:57 left in the second quarter, Denver’s Zeke Nnaji and De’Anthony Melton got confrontational, with Gary Payton II snatching Nnaji’s headband.
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The situation escalated as all three players involved received technical fouls, but surprisingly, Green stood quietly away from the huddle.
The announcers took note and said, “Now we got a little scuffle back and forth between these two. Nnaji getting pulled back and then Peyton just ripped his headband off. Security now on the floor. Draymond Green is completely away from it.”
“Imagine that. Draymond was in there to start and then jump back. So this came out of seemingly nowhere after a somewhat innocuous play.”
Earlier during the season, in a game against the Orlando Magic, things got out of hand when Green got into an exchange with head coach Steve Kerr during a third-quarter timeout.
When he realized he was unable to keep his cool, Green headed to the locker room for some air.
“Tempers spilled over and I just thought it was best that I get out of there. I don’t think there was a situation where it was going to get better so it was just best to remove myself. That’s it,” he explained later.
Meanwhile, amid Stephen Curry’s extended injury absence, the Warriors have dipped in the rankings and currently sit in 10th in the West.
After a 116-93 defeat to Denver, they will host the San Antonio Spurs, having earned a berth in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
